The name the 1 in 12 Club … they said that it was from Margaret Thatcher who famously said something about 1 in 12 claimants are defrauding the state. So it was like taking that back and saying, “we are these 1 in 12”. Laura These were people who lived on Buttershaw and Holmewood, Thorpe Edge. Oh, they were, from the city ... when they started the club in 1981, Bradford was being absolutely smashed to bits by the beginning of deindustrialization from Margaret Thatcher… suddenly overnight, there was mass unemployment. So the economy of Bradford just nosedived, and for unemployed young people it was weird, because, on the one hand, they had no money, so it wasn’t very easy to do things, but on the hand, because there was no jobs … the whole welfare state kind of said “Right well, do what you want for a few years. Because there’s no jobs, so there’s no pressure.” Matt Hannan We started really through Claimant’s Union ... I put on a benefit gig, first gig I ever put on, at the university with New Model Army, Requiem, Chronic, Living Dead, Jools, Little Brother, and Violation (the drummer went on to be in Southern Death Cult, Aki). So through that and the experience of putting on benefit gigs, while being in Claimants Union, we decided that there was all these bands we knew with nowhere to play, so we thought we’d start a club, regularly put these bands on. And so we started in April 1981 at Metropole and put the first gig on there basically and that’s how it started basically through the Claimants Union and then we decided to call ourselves 1 in 12 Club. Gary Cavanagh Well it worked alongside the Claimants Union to begin with, so it was supporting people on the dole who had no money and who had the dole cut for no reason. So it was solidarity with people and helping them reclaim their domain and stuff like that. Bri Doom We had this member statement which said we’re open to everyone, regardless of your gender, regardless of your sexuality, regardless of your age. And back then, that was actually quite important to be so upfront about that. Cameron Skinner
PART ONE: A PLACE OF RESISTANCE
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